For the love of vinyl: It's Record Store Day

Sunday

Apr 20, 2014 at 2:00 AM

PORTSMOUTH — Bull Moose Music on Congress Street was hopping on Saturday as a steady stream of music aficionados stopped by to look through bins of obscure vinyl records, check out the new CDs and listen to a live set from roots rock band Gunther Brown from Portland, Maine.

Suzanne Laurent

PORTSMOUTH — Bull Moose Music on Congress Street was hopping on Saturday as a steady stream of music aficionados stopped by to look through bins of obscure vinyl records, check out the new CDs and listen to a live set from roots rock band Gunther Brown from Portland, Maine.

It was Record Store Day and store manager Garrison Nein said there was a line of people on the street in the morning waiting for the doors of the independent music store to open. When asked how independent record stores are staying in business during the age of iTunes and big-box stores, Nein said, "Wow, I could chase that question down a few rabbit holes."

"I think everyone today has access to MP3s on iTunes and other Internet sites, but, at least here at Bull Moose, we offer competitive prices," he said. "So someone can download a new CD, say, for $10, and it's the same price they pay here and get the physical CD with artwork."

Nein said Bull Moose carries every genre of music. "It's like coming into a music library," he said. "And Record Store Day is like Christmas for us."

He said people still enjoy picking up LPs and CDs and looking for new artists.

For Record Store Day, limited numbers of vinyl records were available. Nein held up a vinyl of a 1960s psychedelic rock group called July.

"An original recording of this record could go for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars," he said. "We have 850 copies that we are selling today only for $18."

Vinyls have been making a steady comeback. Barry McComb of Hampton was sifting through the remaining bin around 3 p.m. Saturday.

"I inherited a vinyl collection from a friend," he said. "So I actually bought back my old collection I had sold and now collect albums."

Joe Anderson of Cape Neddick, Maine, came into the city for the day specifically for Record Store Day. He said he was friends with the Gunther Brown band and it was his first time at Bull Moose.

"I love record stores, and this store is great to look around in," he said. "There's nothing like coming in and meeting friendly people."

According to its Web site, Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1,000 independently owned record stores in the United States and thousands of similar stores internationally.

It's a day for the people who make up the world of the record store — the staff, the customers and the artists — to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role these independently owned stores play in their communities.

Nein has been working at the Portsmouth Bull Moose location for seven years. "It's so great to be at the center of a positive community of people who love music," he said.

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
seacoastonline.com ~ 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service